Child of my Blood
by Leo Dragoness
Summary: **chapter 2 uploaded** A mysterious girl shows up at Hogwarts. Lyn makes friends with the infamous Harry Potter, and he can't help but feel fascinated by her, although he feels certain that she is keeping a secret from him... Rating for mild swearing.
1. On the Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: Ok, you know the drill. Everything that you recognize belongs to the goddess JK Rowling. The plot and several characters are mine. That's it.  
  
Rain poured down from the sky. A fearsome wind howled, shrieking as it struck the side of the Hogwarts Express. It was hardly noticed by everyone who was riding it, except for one.  
  
She jumped as she felt the wind collide with the train, then tried to relax. It was to no avail. Her breathing heightened and she gripped the sides of her seat involuntarily. Her sensitive, keen senses caused her to feel every vibration, every movement, as though it felt multiplied tenfold.  
  
Calming down, she loosened her grip and stared dismally out of the window. The glass reflected the profile of her face. Her eyes searched far out, out over the countryside. They glittered ominously, bringing a slight pigment of light to her otherwise dark pupils. Remembrance flooded over her. She hated to remember, but it happened. It always did. She was just glad that she was alone right now, when it had to happen.  
  
She did not cry, but a tear leaked its way out of her sinister-like eye and fell down her cheek, traced its way to the tip of her chin, and rested there, threatening to drop. It was followed by several more, dripping onto her robes. She did not make a sound, but her eyes hardened at the memories, those cruel memories. They had taken everything away from her. Her family, her life, her soul. She was all alone in the world now.  
  
With her memories.  
  
~~~  
  
"Gosh, it's really pouring outside. Good thing we're under cover."  
  
Harry Potter looked out of the window in his train compartment as he made this remark. His best friend, Ron Weasley, sat across from him, throwing Fizzing Whizbees in the air and catching them in his mouth. Ron spoke around a mouthful, "Yeah, wuddent wanna cross in this weathah." He swallowed as Pigwidgeon twittered happily in his cage.  
  
Hermione Granger looked up from Hogwarts, A History, which she had been rereading for the fifth time. "We're almost there, though, so we'll be outside in no time." Crookshanks pounced into her lap; she stroked him, and he purred loudly.  
  
"Yeah, a nice little start to our year- drowning in the rain outside," Harry said. "Though I suppose it's better than drowning in the rain outside, carrying an angry, wet cat." He said this with a glance at Crookshanks, Hermione's large, fluffy ginger-colored cat.  
  
Hermione sniffed. "I've got him his own basket; he won't get wet."  
  
"Let's hope not," Ron muttered, "or else we'll be hearing the latest rendition of the Cat Opera."  
  
"Ha, ha, ha," Hermione said sarcastically. "Even if his basket doesn't work, I've put a simple drying charm on him."  
  
"Wonderful," Harry sighed. "Let's just hope that this year is better than the last."  
  
They sat in silence for a while thinking of the previous year. Harry's mind wandered from the new threat of Voldemort to his summer. He had spent most of it at the Dursleys enjoying tormenting Dudley and threatening Uncle Vernon with Sirius, who actually was currently residing at Remus Lupin's house. He had gone out to Diagon Alley one day by himself and had met up with the Weasleys. The rest of the summer he spent there. Suddenly each was jerked from their thoughts by the sudden screeching halt of the Hogwarts Express. Ron was lurched forward and crashed straight into Hermione. Harry couldn't help but grin at the amusing sight.  
  
"Ron, I know you've got major hots for Hermione, but please try to be more discreet."  
  
"Shut up," Ron snapped glaring at him. Hermione blushed scarlet.  
  
Still smiling, Harry led the descent from the train. A familiar voice called, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Looking up through the rain, Harry could make out the hulking mass of Hagrid. He waved to him; the giant waved back with a smile, still calling for the first years.  
  
The three crowded into one carriage. Harry sat across from Hermione, who realized suddenly that she was sitting next to Ron. Given the conversation that had just been held, Hermione didn't look too pleased at the seating arrangements. Harry smiled wickedly at the furious-looking Ron and turned to look outside. Suddenly he jumped slightly in surprise.  
  
A girl was sitting next to him. He hadn't heard her clamber into the cart. Harry couldn't see her face as her back was turned to him. She was looking out of the window, not paying her fellow passengers any heed.  
  
Harry exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione, and was about to attempt conversation with this stranger when the cart creaked forward and it became impossible to hear anything except for the squealing tires.  
  
They reached the great looming castle and the carts stopped. The unknown girl was the first to jump out. Harry clambered quickly out to catch her and find out who she was. But when he landed, he looked around and saw no trace of the strange girl. It was as though she had vanished.  
  
"Odd huh?" Ron remarked as he came out beside Harry. "What was she doing in our cart anyway?"  
  
"It's not as though she didn't have as much of a right to be in there as we did," Hermione snapped as she landed on the ground.  
  
"That's right, Weasley," drawled an all-too-familiar voice. "Why don't you listen to your Mudblood friend drone on about the rights of freaks? It was house-elves last year, after all-"  
  
Harry had to hold on hard to Ron's robes as he furiously launched himself at Draco Malfoy, who unsurprisingly was flanked by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Chancing a glance at Hermione, he was surprised to see his other friend red in the face from rage as well. He knew that Hermione had disbanded S.P.E.W. earlier that summer- she had explained in a letter to him that "the elves just didn't appreciate it at all and it seemed better to keep them happy as they are"- but that still didn't stop her from trembling with fury and restraining herself not to follow Ron's lead. Hurriedly Harry realized that he would have to be the one who held them all back from falling into total vehemence, and so he quickly fired an insult back at his nemesis. "At least she's gotten better grades than you for the past four years. That's a long time, isn't it Malfoy? A common, Muggle- born beating the infamous Draco-"  
  
But Harry realized to his amazement that Malfoy wasn't paying attention to his offensive language. Actually, he was staring wide-eyed at something else. A girl was standing in front of him, apparently staring him down. Although Harry could only see the girl's back, he recognized her instantly as the girl who had shared the carriage with them. Apparently her gaze was so furious or so freakish- he wasn't quite sure which- that it was making Malfoy back away. From what Harry could see of him, he didn't really have a look of terror on his face, but one of astonishment and awe, and a slight bit of fear. Crabbe and Goyle also took a step back, stupid confusion plainly stamped on their trollish faces.  
  
For a moment the girl held Malfoy's gaze- he seemed unable to turn away- when finally she spoke.  
  
"From what I heard, you were implying I was a freak." Her voice surprised Harry: it was rather deep for a girl, with a slight melodious undertone buzzing, weaving its way through. A slight American accent was traceable in her soft, husky voice. "But I'm sure you didn't really mean that- did you?" At her last words her tone of voice turned sharply upwards; Harry could sense a snarl in it, which made him hope that Malfoy was stupid enough to answer affirmatively to her question; he would have liked to see what the girl would do to him.  
  
Most unfortunately for Harry, Malfoy was not an idiot, and he only managed to cast a resentful look in the girl's direction. Still the girl's glare did not seem to falter, and after a few more fidgety moments, Malfoy turned to Crabbe and Goyle and muttered bitterly, "C'mon." They left, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione staring open-mouthed at the girl's back, who was still looking after the retreating backs of the Slytherins.  
  
Ron spoke first. "Ah- ermghhh- how...?" was all he was able to manage.  
  
The girl slowly turned to face the three of them. It was all Harry was able to do not to gasp.  
  
It wasn't really her face that was disturbing; although her skin was paler than normal and her nose small and turned up, and her dark hair hanging loosely around her in long, almost sinister waves, matching her dark arched eyebrows. It was her eyes. Dark black was a bit of an understatement. Her pupils were indistinguishable from her irises, which were as dark and empty as midnight. They were completely devoid of any possible color or light, just swirls of shadow and seemingly pits of death. No pigments gave anything to those mysterious eyes except total darkness.  
  
She held them in her gaze for a moment, and Harry suddenly understood how she had been able to scare off Malfoy and his gang. Her stare was all- penetrating, and it seemed as though the girl could see right through his thoughts. Then she blinked, letting her eyes close for a few moments. It was all the three needed to recollect themselves. The girl, sensing that her stare was holding them under a thrall, kept them closed as she spoke to them.  
  
"Your foes are weak. It's sickening."  
  
Then she swept off. Harry, regaining his senses, shook himself and looked frantically through the crowd for the odd girl. But again, she seemed to have Apparated off to somewhere else. Harry knew better than to convey this thought to Hermione, who would merely launch off into her "How many times have I told you that you can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds" speech which he and Ron heard several times a year each. But looking back at his friends, Harry realized that they were both as stupefied as he.  
  
Suddenly they snapped back to reality; it was pouring rain outside, and they were holding up a jostling crowd who were trying to enter the building. The three hastened to get inside under cover. Ron finally broke the silence. "I'll tell you, that's the weirdest girl I've met in a while, and I've met quite a few."  
  
"Like Fleur Delacour?" Hermione replied scathingly.  
  
With a glare at her, Ron continued, "I'm serious. There's something odd about her."  
  
Hermione was about to scoff some more when Harry interrupted her. "Ron's right. I'm sure she wasn't at Hogwarts last year; we would have noticed her."  
  
The three were about to enter the Great Hall when Professor Dumbledore walked up to them. "Harry," he began. "I need to talk to you." He gave a small glance to Ron and Hermione. "In private."  
  
Harry sighed inwardly; he had been looking forward to actually being able to see the Sorting again this year, but how could he refuse the Headmaster? He nodded to his two friends, who were staring at him blankly, and followed Dumbledore up to his office. The stone gargoyle stood there blocking the entrance as immovable as ever until the Professor gave it the password ("Acid Pops!"), when it sprung aside and left the two free to enter and for Harry to hear whatever it was that Dumbledore wanted to tell him. 


	2. Long Talks and an Especially Annoying So...

As soon Harry entered the Headmaster's room, he fell into one of the large poufy chairs, and Dumbledore sat behind his desk, beginning to speak.  
  
"Now that the threat of Voldemort is back, the safety of the castle has been heightened. Do not assume," he added, for Harry had just groaned and put his head in his hands, "that they are here primarily to keep you safe. The whole student body has a right to be protected. Besides, as I know better than most, you can take care of yourself."  
  
"Okay..." Harry said slowly, glad that he wasn't going to be confined to his dormitory whenever he was out of class. "So why did you want to talk to me, Professor?"  
  
"Because, in spite of all I have said, cautions will still have to be taken. I have talked to Sirius-" At the mention of his godfather Harry's stomach gave a slight lurch; he realized just at that moment that he hadn't gotten any mail from Sirius the entire summer. Nor, he mentally chided himself, had Harry sent him anything. Dumbledore sensing Harry's discomfort, soothed his embarrassment by saying, "Sirius was unable to contact anyone due to the- er- unstable position he has found himself in. So I went over to Remus Lupin's house and spoke with him briefly. He shares the same concerns as I and we jointly agreed that more Aurors should be reinstalled in this school."  
  
Nodding, Harry asked, "So have you added more, Professor?"  
  
"Yes, this year's teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts is an ex- Auror." Every year fate seemed to give Hogwarts a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. "Plus, we have a few in our midst that will stay unknown, in the case that if there is an emergency, Voldemort will not be expecting that we have as many defenses," Dumbledore explained. "That is basically why I wanted to talk to you. Being informed of our school's actions might keep you safer, Mr. Potter." Suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat diverted his attention; Dumbledore swiveled around and Harry followed suit. To his great astonishment, he saw, once again, the girl from the carriage. He wondered briefly how she could have entered the office noiselessly- or maybe she had been there the whole time, silently watching? She was looking pointedly at Dumbledore.  
  
"Ah yes- I'm sorry, Lyn. Yes, we need to talk as well." Dumbledore turned back and said, "Harry, this is Lyn- er-" he glanced back at the girl, who shook her head. "Erm- yes, just Lyn." The look of amazement that was suddenly mingled with confusion on the young wizard's face was not lost on Dumbledore, who merely gave a small smile and said, "Yes. Lyn, this is Harry Potter."  
  
The girl's eyebrows raised in surprise, and Harry tried hard not to look at them as they would make his eyes travel in the direction of her eerie, inhuman eyes. Lyn's face relaxed into a smile as well, a smile that seemed to light up her face and bring something other than darkness to her features. She leaned forward to shake Harry's hand. "So you are the one-"  
  
Dumbledore coughed significantly with a small glare at Lyn, who shrugged. As Harry shook her hand, he waited for the inevitable flick to his scar that always occurred when being introduced to someone new in the magical world- but, to his great astonishment, it didn't come. Her hypnotic eyes instead stayed on his own as they finished the handshake. Harry's musings of wonder were cut short by Dumbledore, who said, "Well, Harry, that's all I wanted to discuss with you. You may go down to the feast now. Lyn, stay, I wanted a word with you."  
  
Harry nodded, his mind in a tumult as he left the office. Murmurs from Dumbledore and Lyn, muffled by the door, barely registered in his head; he was too bewildered to let anything else distract him. Why didn't Dumbledore tell him Lyn's last name? What was up with her, anyway? Those mysterious eyes and silence- and all her vanishing acts. And what did she mean, he was the one? Harry mused that she probably meant that he was the one who had vanquished the Dark Lord Voldemort, Harry's mother's protection saving him from Avada Kedavra, the worst Unforgivable Curse, and in turn reducing Voldemort to something barely alive... whilst Harry had survived the encounter with only the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Dumbledore had probably just told her about it. Obviously if she hadn't known about that, Lyn was incredibly foreign, or maybe even new to the magical world? That might explain her eyes staying on his...  
  
His musings were halted as he bumped into the Great Hall's door. Blinking dazedly, he opened it and tried to sneak to the Gryffindor table as unobtrusively as possible, but unfortunately Harry did not possess a silent tread such as Lyn's. Many eyes stared at him, and whispers followed him as he passed by. As Harry looked up at the High Table, he saw that Professor McGonagall was not looking too pleased about the increase in noise, as it was distracting everyone from a soon-to-be-first-year wearing the Sorting Hat. As Harry spotted Ron and Hermione and sat across from them, Hermione asked him quietly, "What was that all about?" The Hat bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!"  
  
Remembering Dumbledore's wishes to keep the Aurors hiding in secret in the school's midst, Harry shrugged and said, "Dumbledore just wanted to tell me that the security on Hogwarts is going to be uplifted."  
  
Harry looked up to the teacher's table briefly. Professor Snape was sitting on the right end; as his eyes swiveled in the direction of Harry, Snape shot him his familiar look of loathing. Turning away from him, Harry gazed at the other teachers: Professors Flitwick, Trelawny, Sprout, and Sinastra sat on the left side of the table. Then there was an empty seat, presumably Dumbledore's, who was obviously still up talking with Lyn. His eyes swiveled to the right of Dumbledore's empty seat, next to which Professor McGonagall sat next to, and Hagrid, who waved at him. Harry grinned back, then turned his attentions back to his friends.  
  
Ron nodded at his statement, but Hermione looked slightly suspicious as another terrified-looking eleven-year-old put on the Sorting Hat. As soon as it grazed the top of his head, the Hat announced, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
The much-relieved-looking first year scurried off to the Ravenclaw table, and Harry caught a glimpse of Cho applauding him. His stomach gave a tight lurch at the thought of her. Cho had once been energetic and full of life, but when Cedric Diggory had been killed last year by Lord Voldemort, it seemed to kill a part of her as well. When she would normally be with a few of her friends heartily thumping the back of the newcomer, Cho merely stayed in her seat and clapped politely, her eyes downcast. She looked up and made eye contact with Harry, who noticed how deadened her eyes now seemed. He waved at Cho, who gave a small smile back before turning her attention back to the Sorting Hat.  
  
Harry frowned at his golden plate. Why was everything so confusing today? He still had feelings for Cho, of course, but Lyn was also complicating matters by her mystifying behavior...  
  
Harry snapped back to reality by the arrival of Dumbledore, who came in just as the last student, Mark Zzepeck, was sorted into Hufflepuff. He swept up to the High Table and smiled down on them all.  
  
"A few announcements before we begin our excellent feast-" Ron groaned in hunger at this point of Dumbledore's speech. "With the sudden rise of Voldemort-" any whisperers still left muttering immediately grew silent- "Hogwarts has been given extraordinary protection, in the case that it should be attacked. Aurors will constantly be patrolling borders around the school. I will look to the prefects-" at this point Harry and Hermione grinned at each other; they had both been selected as fifth-year prefects for Gryffindor House. Although Ron had maintained stoutly that he would rather raise a hundred of Hagrid's former Blast-Ended Skrewts on his own than become a prefect, Harry was sure that Ron was a little disappointed that he hadn't been chosen- "and the new Head Boy and Girl to make sure that no one is in danger. Furthermore, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this year, the school has decided to especially enforce the basic Auror training to all students of fifth year and up.  
  
"Which brings me to my next point," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "This year we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Allow me to introduce Professor Sedoll." This announcement was followed by some subdued, unenthusiastic clapping; looking up, Harry saw with a small jolt that their teacher was a woman, the first female Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that he would ever have.  
  
Her appearance was unremarkable apart from the fact that her hair was reddish-gold, smooth-looking and shiny, that fell past the seat of the chair she was sitting in. With some amusement, Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall, who always wore her hair in the same crisp bun, was giving glances of disapproval at the new teacher. Professor Sedoll, however, did not seem to notice; she just acknowledged the announcement with a nod of her head and a smile.  
  
Continuing with his announcements, Dumbledore gave them the regulars. "The Forbidden Forest is, as always, off limits to all students. Students of third year and up will be allowed to visit the village of Hogsmeade, with a parent or guardian signed permission slip of course." The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. "Quidditch tryouts will take place on October 15, as well as the election of the new House captains, as all of them are gone this year." Ron picked up his fork eagerly, expecting Dumbledore to wrap up his speech.  
  
Unfortunately for Ron's now growling stomach, Dumbledore prolonged the start of the Welcoming Feast with, "As a last announcement, we have a new student in our midst who will be starting in the fifth year. Please welcome miss Lyn Allenné."  
  
The Hall doors opened, and Lyn walked in, noiselessly making her way through the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables to the front, where the Sorting Hat still stood on its stool. Small murmurs were heard around the Hall, and looking over at the Slytherin table, Harry could see Malfoy muttering bitterly to Goyle. Ron smiled victoriously and told Hermione, "It's her, of course. Figures- she's new."  
  
Reaching the stool, Lyn jammed the Hat onto her head. Thankfully it fell past her odd eyes. An expectant hush filled the Hall, the only sound being Ron's stomach giving forth another sulky growl. Even the teachers were hardly daring to breathe. Harry noticed that Lyn was gripping the sides of the stool so tightly that her already pale knuckles were turning white.  
  
Thirty seconds passed... then a minute... then two... Harry gave a quick glance at Dumbledore, who was frowning. Others had looks on their faces of slight surprise that it was taking so long, others yet who were hungrier wore the same angry grimace as Ron did. When five minutes elapsed with the same silence, Lyn slowly took the Hat off her head and stood up, turning to Dumbledore. "It said it wanted to talk to you."  
  
A collective gasp arose from most everyone. Harry was nonplussed. Never had a student have to take off the Sorting Hat so that it could speak to the Headmaster. His frown deepening into the same scowl Lyn wore, Dumbledore got up and took the hat from her, placing it on his head. After a minute or so, he took it off and gave it back to Lyn, muttering something to her. While Dumbledore went back to his chair, she placed it back on her head and it immediately proclaimed her as "GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Whipping the hat off of her head, Lyn stalked off towards the Gryffindor table. No applause followed the proclamation, only stunned silence. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Well, that is all. Dig in."  
  
"FINALLY!" roared Fred and George Weasley; as if the volume had suddenly been turned back up, instantaneous chatter filled the Hall noisily, and the dishes in front of the students were suddenly filled with excellent dishes. While Harry filled his plate with steak and kidney pudding, Hermione glanced around the Hall.  
  
"Move over, Harry," she hissed. "Budge up a spot."  
  
"Why?" asked Harry through his mouth full of pudding.  
  
"So that Lyn can sit there." Ron opened his mouth as if to protest, but Hermione suddenly raised her voice as she smiled and said, "Do you want to sit here?"  
  
Unbeknownst to Harry, Lyn was standing right behind him; she gave a small smile back to Hermione and replied, "Sure." As she sat next to him, Lyn looked around at the three. "I know you're Harry Potter," she said, "and you two were the ones with him when those three sloths were talking with you." Harry made no attempt to hide the smile that formed at her less-than- flattering descriptions of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. "But what are your names?"  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasley," she introduced for both of them. Ron was still trying not to look at the girl, as her eyes were still dark and hypnotic. Sensing this, Lyn whipped out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, masking her mesmerizing eyes.  
  
"I know that they're weird, so I generally wear these in public," she explained. Ron looked slightly relieved, and relaxed back into his normal self.  
  
"Are you American?" he asked. Lyn gazed a little sharply at Ron.  
  
"No," she responded after a moment, "but I lived there for a while." She looked at some of the dishes and, changing the subject, said, "I haven't had European food in a while. Which dishes are good?"  
  
Hermione advised her on several food choices, while Harry gazed at her, frowning slightly. When her plate was full, he asked Lyn, "Why'd the Sorting Hat take so long to decide where to put you?"  
  
Lyn frowned. She took a bite of shepard's pie, started to chew slowly, and just when Harry thought she was not going to answer, Lyn swallowed and replied, "It was misinformed on some of my requests, and the damned thing can get very stubborn when it wants to be. That's why Dumbledore had to intervene." She took another bite of the pie, saying to Hermione, "This is good. What's it called?"  
  
While Hermione explained the origins of several of the food choices, Ron rolled his eyes and looked at Harry. "Wonder how long it'll take for Lyn to shove her plate into Hermione's face to shut her up. So, are you going to try out for House Captain?"  
  
Harry had not thought about running for the position. But Fred, who was sitting on Harry's other side, nudged him. "You definitely should, Harry, you're the best player on our team by far. I'll bet you'd win by a landslide."  
  
"I dunno," Harry replied nervously. "I suppose I could..."  
  
"I think you should," Ron said as he dished more fried potatoes onto his plate. "Who do we have to replace this year anyway?"  
  
"Um, Wood definitely..." Harry frowned as he thought. "How many of our Chasers are left?" he asked.  
  
"Angelina's our only one now; Katie and Alicia left last year," George replied as he entered the conversation. "So we need a Keeper and two Chasers now."  
  
"I wonder who'll try out," Harry mused. Turning to his other side, a thought occurred to him. "Lyn, do you play Quidditch?" he asked.  
  
Hermione abruptly halted her detailed description of European food. Instead she was looking expectantly at the new Gryffindor, as were Ron, Fred and George. Lyn fidgeted uncomfortably, toying with a piece of bread. "A little," she admitted reluctantly.  
  
"Really? What position?" Harry persisted.  
  
"Keeper," Lyn responded even more unwillingly.  
  
"You should definitely try out then," Fred urged. "We really do need a good replacement for Wood."  
  
It took a bit more persuasion to convince Lyn, but in the end she hesitantly agreed to try out for the team. Harry wondered briefly why she was so loath to try out, but he figured that it was probably nerves. He himself had been uneasy about flying in front of everyone his first time.  
  
"Are you going to try out?" he asked Ron.  
  
"Maybe," Ron shrugged.  
  
"You know," Hermione said thoughtfully, "I was thinking I might."  
  
"You?!" Ron was barely able to cover a snigger. "Since when have you been the best flyer around? Getting tips from Krum, I suppose?"  
  
Hermione scowled at him. Harry sighed inwardly. Ron had always been tecthy about her going out with Victor Krum, and it seemed as though he had not quite given up his grudge yet. "It was just a thought," she snapped.  
  
The remnants of the feast cleared, and Harry got up wearily. "Come on, Hermione, we've probably got to lead them."  
  
"Yeah," Hermione sighed. "The password's 'jabberwocky', isn't it?"  
  
"Where are you two going?" Lyn asked starting to get up after them.  
  
"We're prefects," Hermione explained.  
  
"Oh," said Lyn, a blank look still on her face.  
  
"I'll explain later. Let's get to the tower," Hermione advised.  
  
They led the Gryffindors to their common room, many of them giving a wide berth to Lyn, who didn't really seem to notice or care. Reaching the Fat Lady, Harry gave the portrait the password and she swung open to admit them. Hermione started to show Lyn up towards the girl's dormitories, and Harry and Ron trudged up to their beds. As soon as he reached the side of his, exhaustion swept over Harry; without bothering to undress, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.  
  
=====  
  
Thanks to Alexia Alexandra, Rachel, and XxDragon Princess NikkixX for reviewing Chapter 1. 


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